Edward Fuller has been helping out at the Tolland Senior Center since before there was a Tolland Senior Center. Fuller, who is called "Eddie" by his friends, has been a resident of Tolland for 55 years, and will celebrate his 92nd birthday in August. For the past 30 years, he has helped at the center, primarily in the kitchen.

"I do cooking and whatever they need me for – taking out garbage, or whatever," he said.

Fuller said doesn't even know why he likes doing it, but it has simply become part of him.

"I've just been doing it so long, that I like it," he said, adding that there is at least one perk. "I get a free meal."

Tolland Senior Center Director Fran Weigand said Fuller regularly cleans the center's large stove, and does an impeccable job. "It's heavy duty, and he cleans it like no one else," she said. "He always kept the stove spotless."

Weigand said Fuller also helps the local pantry and delivers food baskets to people's cars during the holiday food drive.

Fuller is a World War II veteran. He joined the Navy, as opposed to being drafted, in 1943. He was frequently deferred because his job at a tobacco farm needed him. He has myriad stories to tell, including one from August 6, 1945.

"I was on a minesweeper," he said. "We were supposed to go just outside of Japan and sweep all the mines out. They dropped the bomb on Hiroshima, and then everything on the ship just stopped. They said we're not going."

Soon after that, they sent Fuller home. "I was thankful that they dropped the bomb," he said. "I know some people say it was no good, but it was good for me, because I got to come home."

Fuller married Lottie, who passed away about 12 years ago, in Rockville, where he also worked at the Roosevelt Mills. "That was the best job I ever had," he said. "I was a loom fixer. I worked second shift, and I loved it."

Fuller has five children (one deceased).

He later worked at Hamilton Standard, making propellers for 35 years, until he retired. "For 35 years, I worked on the same line," he said. "We made more than 10,000 propellers."

Fuller said he greatly enjoys the company at the senior center, and has many friends.

"I get along with everybody," he said, adding that he also brings in produce from his large garden for his friends at the center. He regularly brings then tomatoes, rhubarb and squash. "Just today, I brought a whole bunch of rhubarb down for the ladies," he said.

Fuller has shared stories with numerous people over the years, many of whom are now gone. "So many," he said. "I'm lucky, I guess – lucky to have known them."

Fuller's stories have helped others. Once, he said, he was interviewed by a student at UConn about his war experiences. That student later won a scholarship for writing the story.

He has also told local middle school students about his experiences, as part of an intergenerational program.